Ag groups concerned about potential for 'cow tax'

Illinois’ largest agricultural organization is gearing up for federal limits on methane and carbon dioxide emissions from farms, though just what form such limits would take remains far from decided.

Tim Landis

Illinois’ largest agricultural organization is gearing up for federal limits on methane and carbon dioxide emissions from farms, though just what form such limits would take remains far from decided.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency just completed the first step toward new rules on greenhouse-gas emissions linked to global warming, including emissions from livestock and poultry operations.

A major concern is a so-called “cow tax” on farm operations, though a specific tax has not been proposed, Chuck Spencer, director of national legislation and policy development for the Illinois Farm Bureau, said Monday.

“I think it’s fair to say that greenhouse emissions were a big part of the presidential campaign, and it’s certainly clear it’s a priority for the incoming (Obama) administration,” said Spencer.

The 80,000-member organization warned producers in a December newsletter that extension of greenhouse-emission limits to cattle, hog and poultry operations might result in a fee and permit system similar to that already required for other pollutants.

Spencer said including farm emissions in the greenhouse-gas rules would represent a major change in the federal definition of air pollutants, one that also could be expensive for farmers.

“What we want to do is draw attention to the EPA rulemaking, and make sure what you set this at and what they’re trying to do, and for heaven’s sake, be careful how you set the fee structures and who you impact,” he said.

An early draft suggested a permit and fee system would be needed to control farm emissions, though an analysis by the U.S. Department of Agriculture concluded it would be difficult to track airborne emissions from manure, fertilizers and other farming byproducts.

“These emissions are not easily calculated or controlled. Moreover, many of the emissions are the result of natural biological processes that are as old as agriculture itself,” the department concluded.

A spokesman for the EPA released a statement that said the agency “is not proposing a cow tax,” and that a deadline has not been set for final rules.

The statement said federal regulators are looking at a number of options for control of greenhouse emissions after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled last year such emissions should be classified as “pollutants.”

Efforts to reach representatives of the Sierra Club were unsuccessful Monday, but a variety of environmental groups have weighed in on behalf of strict new limits on greenhouse-gas emissions, including from “factory farms.”

The U.S. Supreme Court ruling also found states have the authority to regulate greenhouse emissions, but Maggie Carson of the Illinois EPA said states have been hesitant to act until federal limits are set.

Tim Landis can be reached at (217) 788-1536.

The issue: Farms emitting 100 tons per year or more of covered pollutants, including methane and carbon dioxide, would be required to obtain emission permits under the federal Clean Air Act. The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates the rules would cover dairy farms with 25 or more cows, beef operations with 50 or more cattle, hog farms with 200 or more animals and corn farms of 500 or more acres.

What’s next? Final rules will be drafted for public comment. A schedule has not yet been set.